Well, I'm back from the shooting, skinning and butchering extravaganza that was my trip to South Dakota! The trip got off on the right foot when I decided that since it was pronghorn season, I should stop in Wyoming and buy a doe tag. Within less than an hour, I had my license and a turbo-goat on the ground . . . and my dinners for the next week all packed in the cooler. <br />I got to Custer about mid day and decided to follow through with my plan to camp in the French Creek Nature area for the week and get away from anyone else who would be crazy enough to camp in South Dakota in October. It turns out, there were only a few of us around as most campgrounds had closed for the season and the park grocery stores and gas stations were all boarded up for the winter. I made my camp about 2 miles into French creek and just far enough off the trail that anyone making their way into the are wouldn't know I was there. That first night was DAMN COLD! I bundled up in some fleece and zipped up the trusty 0 degree sleeping bag nice and tight.<br />I woke up the next day and, knowing that it would be about 4 days until the herd manager would be in town and ready to escort me on my hunt (this is required by the park), I thought I would just go out looking for big shaggy bovids. Boy, let me tell you that Custer State Park has their share! It quickly became apparent that finding a proper cow in the area was NOT going to be a problem. The herds seemed to exist in the trees during the day and then venture into the grasslands in the mid to late afternoon. I drove some of the obscure roads in the park and found herd after herd lazily munching on tall grass or sleeping through the rather warm mid-day hours. I did this for FOUR DAYS and loved every minute of it! I greatly enjoyed the quiet solitude of the French Creek area and smirked at myself as I fried up pronghorn tenderloins for breakfast with no one around to tell me how strange this was. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> In these days, I also saw some really nice solitary bulls around some of the more isolated areas of the park. In fact, I ran across one bull, and kepts an eye on him for a couple of days, who had never been seen by the herd manager in his two years of employment at Custer. This old bull had worn down his horns to about 9 inch stubs but had just amazing mass and body size. Probably about 16 inch bases and 15 inch first quarters atop about 2200 pounds of critter. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="images/icons/shocked.gif" /> I hope someone gets him this year in Custers trophy bull hunt because I'm not sure how many more winters he is going to survive. <br />On my sixth day in Custer, I met the herd manager and we set out for the comparatively simple matter of taking a mature cow from the herd. I was informed that they prefer neck shots as it makes recovery much easier when you know where they are going down. My photos don't illustrate the fact but there is some nasty terrain in the park where one would rather not be looking for a wounded or dead 1300 pound animal. We eventually found our herd of cows and younger bulls and it was a simple matter of placing a 400 grain Hornady slug behind the animal's ear. I had wanted to find an only heavy cow with a nice blonde cape. Well, as you can see from the photos below, I found her. Custer actually rounds up and brands all their calves annually and mine was seven years old. Not the oldest cow in the herd but, as you can see from the photos, she was sporting great round horns, a really nice cape and weighed in at about 1300 pounds. The Hornady found her atlas joint and she didn't take a single step after the shot.<br />Then the work began! After field dressing, I was told it would be OK for me to use Custer's processing facility to do any butchering I wished. I turns out that Custer State Park once commercially hunted this herd and, 20 or 30 years ago when herd numbers where much higher (too high for the habitat), profesionals would take 8 bison PER DAY from the area and sell the hides and meat. For those of you who have never handled bison, half of that number would be a lot for any group to handle. We transported the carcass from the field to the facility and my skinning marathon began. Using my trusty Chris Reeve Ubejane Skinner, I began to peel the thick hide from the carcass. I wanted a traditional rug from this animal so I skinned her out from nose to tail in one piece. It took most of the rest of the day to skin, flesh and salt the hide and I was just too damn tired to hike back to camp so I spent that night passed out in my clothes at some no-name motel in the town of Custer. The next morning, the butchering marathon began. Fortunately, the Custer folks were nice enough to let me use their meat saws and commerical meat grinders. I spend that entire day carefully cutting out backstrap steaks, roasts, etc. as well as grinding burger. I also, of course, re-salted the hide that morning. The morning I left Custer, I had the hide atop my white (now red and white) Ford Bronco and all the meat bagged in the ice and tarp lined rear compartment. I made it back to Salt Lake City late that evening and IMMEDIATELY called my girlfriend. She was, amazingly, kind enough to join me the next day on my journey to Southern Utah where my grandmother has a house and rather large freezer. It was here that WE (yes, WE <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> ) finished butchering the two hind quarters, sorting and bagging the meat and stuffing every ounce into an upright freezer. I made it back to Salt Lake City yesterday and will leave for Norhtern Arizona again next week. <br /><br />All I could think about during the skinning and butchering was "God, I wish North America had duikers" but some of us are just gluttons for punishment I suppose. I am, of course, absolutely exhausted . . . but can't wait to do it again! Anyone know of any good bison hunts . . . Frans? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="images/icons/wink.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" /> <br /><br />Best,<br /><br />JohnTheGreek <br /><br /> <img src="http://www..jpg" alt=" - " /> <br /><br /> <img src="http://www.2003, 00:30: Message edited by: JohnTheGreek ]</small>

John,

Very fine looking animal - Congratulations! Was that 400 grain Hornady launched from a Rigby case?...

Thanks for the story, and best of luck on your next venture,

Bill

Bill,

Thanks a lot! No, I shoot a .416 Rem Mag. it turns out that with the money I save by not buying Rigby Ammunition, I can hunt more.

Best,

JohnTheGreek

Hi John,

Great story! Can you imagine how I ever would have got the *carcass* across the border, in my truck, even if quartered...customs regs says that game carcasses can be brought across...processed meat only 20 kgs!

I'm looking at buying some outfitter tents and a stove for the AB adventure...it's starting to ad up a bit :-( But staying in Ft McMurray is going to be too much of a drag..minimum two hours one way, and that is before getting onto the skidoos.

Frans
Terra Incognita North America
www.terrahunt.com

You've got a point there - I didn't think of that!

Still laughing,

Bill

Congratulations! Great story and a very fine animal.

Great story John - those bison are sure handsome (and tasty) - KMule

Nice one, John.